Chapter 1, Introduction: Online material

For Students

1. Summary

This chapter provides an introduction to the field of sociolinguistics as well as to some of the major themes that will recur throughout this textbook. We propose broad definitions for the terms ‘language’ and ‘society,’ introduce the concepts of ‘identities,’ ‘power,’ and ‘solidarity,’ and explore the possible relationships between language and culture, most notably the Whorfian hypothesis. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field of sociolinguistics, we also address how it fits into various disciplines and how it overlaps with linguistic anthropology and sociology of language. We note that the field includes work on topics such as critical sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and discourse analysis. Finally, we turn to concerns in methodology, stressing that there is no one best method, but that research must be designed to answer specific research questions.

2. Review

2.1. Compare and contrast the following pairs of terms/concepts:

prescriptive grammar/descriptive grammar

performance/competence

competence/communicative competence

correlations/causality

micro-sociolinguistics/macro-sociolinguistics

power/solidarity applied/theoretical

society/culture

2.2. Review questions

2.2.1.What different types of language variation are discussed in this chapter?

2.2.2.What are the possible different relationships between language and culture? Which one is advocated

in the Whorfian hypothesis?

2.2.3.What is the observer’s paradox?

3. Terms to know from this chapter society language code grammar prescriptive descriptive competence performance grammatical judgments communicative competence variants linguistic variation identity power solidarity culture age-grading worldview

Whorfian hypothesis register variationist sociolinguistics micro-sociolinguistics sociology of language (macro-sociolinguistics) linguistic anthropology critical sociolinguistics correlational studies microlinguistic studies discourse analysis macrolinguistic studies critical analysis observer’s paradox quantitative qualitative theoretical applied

4. Links

Journals: These three journals are central to the field of sociolinguistics. You can search for articles on a particular topic or browse through to see what recent issues have been addressed to get ideas for your own term paper.

Journal of Sociolinguistics http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291467-9841

International Journal of the Sociology of Language http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ijsl

Language in Society http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=lsy

The PBS three-part series titled Do You Speak American? was produced with the input and participation of a number of well-known sociolinguists. The website that has been developed covers even more topics than the film and contains links and resources for students, teachers, and anyone else interested in language. The page in the link given here provides an overview of some main topics in sociolinguistics as well as other interesting discussions – William Labov discussing his decision to enter the field of linguistics, for instance, a section on ‘Correct American’ which looks at current issues in grammar in US English, and a discussion about word coinage under the heading ‘Words that shouldn’t be.’

Do You Speak American? Website on sociolinguistics http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/sociolinguistics/sociolinguistics/